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Pakistan Peoples Party\u2019s (PPP) Raja Faisal Rathore took oath as Azad Jammu and Kashmir\u2019s new prime minister on Tuesday, a day after winning the assembly vote that unseated Anwarul Haq.<\/p>\n
Rathore was administered the oath by AJK Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Lateef Akbar during a ceremony in Muzaffarabad, which was attended by Gilgit Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governors.<\/p>\n
Moreover, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, senior leader Faryal Talpur and members of high civil-military leadership were also present at the oath-taking ceremony,<\/p>\n
After the oath, the newly elected AJK PM thanked the PPP’s top leadership, including President Asif Ali Zardari and Talpur, for bestowing upon him the premier responsibility.<\/p>\n
"I pay tribute to the Pakistan Army, who are defending us by sacrificing their lives,” Rathore said in his speech. He further said that the PPP has taken the responsibility of restoring the relationship with the people.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the ocassion, PPP Chairman Bilawal congratulated the people of AJK, declaring that politics in the region had finally been restored.<\/p>\n
Bilawal praised the "unmatched political awareness\u201d of Kashmiris. He said newly sworn\u2011in AJK PM Rathore had witnessed the people\u2019s protests firsthand and now carried their trust.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe promises Faisal Rathore made to you are a trust placed with me,\u201d he said, adding that the new prime minister must now resolve the public\u2019s issues. \u201cYou must fulfil the commitments you made to the people,\u201d he urged Rathore.<\/p>\n
Bilawal said that when representatives fail to represent their people, citizens are forced to struggle themselves. \u201cNow in Muzaffarabad, your representative is Faisal Rathore,\u201d he told the crowd. He vowed that the AJK government would not be run \u201cfrom behind closed doors\u201d.<\/p>\n
Turning to India, Bilawal said that Pakistan’s "standard” after the war with India was clear for all to see. He alleged that India was \u201chiding its face from the world\u201d, and that international forums had seen New Delhi withdraw from scrutiny over the Pahalgam incident in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). <\/p>\n
He said that the United States and other countries would keep reminding New Delhi that "seven of its aircraft were downed” by the Pakistan Air Force.<\/p>\n
Bilawal said India tries to damage the longstanding fraternal bond between Pakistan and Kashmir. He further said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was \u201chiding from the world\u201d and that India was fleeing from global platforms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to tell the Modi government: you have lost wars, and now you will lose your conspiracies too,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif telephoned the newly elected AJK-PM and congratulated him on his election victory. During the conversation, PM Shehbaz said that the uplift of the AJK people was among the federal government\u2019s priorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are determined to work with the AJK government for the welfare, economic development and security of the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir,\u201d he said and assured that his government will extend all-out cooperation in this regard.<\/p>\n
After the oath, Rathore has become the 16th AJK PM and the fourth of the current assembly. Those who have served in the top post during the current assembly\u2019s tenure, apart from Haq, include Abdul Qayyum Khan and Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan.<\/p>\n
The AJK legislative body on Monday voted to remove Haq from the PM’s post, after PPP formally submitted a no-confidence motion against him. A total of 36 lawmakers, including those from the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supported the no-confidence motion against the ex-PM, while two opposed it. <\/p>\n
The PPP had moved to consolidate its government in the autonomous region shortly after President Zardari revealed the political strategy last month. The party bolstered its strength in the Legislative Assembly when 10 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmakers joined the PPP on October 26 during a meeting with President Zardari\u2019s sister, Talpur, at Zardari House in Islamabad.<\/p>\n
Among those who joined the PPP were Muhammad Hussain, Chaudhry Yasir, Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq, Chaudhry Arshad, Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed, Zafar Iqbal Malik, Faheem Akhtar Rabbani, Abdul Majid Khan, Muhammad Akbar Ibrahim, and Asim Sharif Butt.<\/p>\n
Later, the PML-N also tendered its support for the no-confidence motion, but decided against joining the government’s fold.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n